5 Reasons Brokers Get an F for Web Content

5 Reasons Brokers Get an F for Web Content

Web content? How hard can it be? Surely talking to your target audience in an authoritative, professional and interesting way can’t be that much of a challenge? Ah, well that’s where you’re wrong. Putting a few sentences together is one thing, but bringing your brand to life in a way that will set you apart from your competitors is another – and it’s not a walk in the park, particularly if you’re a broker trying to stand out amid an increasingly regulated sector where brokers are battling for exposure.

With crypto/ICO ad bans dominating the headlines and regulatory updates putting the finance industry into a spin, it’s more important than ever to have a fully compliant marketing strategy that’s not bland or boring– so why are so many brokers getting an F for web content? Here are 5 reasons.

Copied content from other brokers

If you’re copying content from other brokers –stop right now! Firstly, it’s bad for SEO. Google and other search engines always try to produce the most relevant content in response to a particular search. If your content has been lifted from another website, search engines will find it difficult to prioritise your site over anyone else’s and this could affect your search rankings for key terms.

Secondly, copying content is not good for your reputation. If you’re simply re-spinning someone else’s work (or even worse) copy and pasting material directly from competitors, it shows a lack of passion and (dare we say it), pride. Both newbie and experienced traders are on the lookout for brokerages that are knowledgeable and experienced. They will do their research and won’t be impressed if they see duplicate content across numerous sites. Who wrote it first won’t particularly matter in their eyes. The fact is; it will simply make your company look lazy. And, if your marketing is lazy, what will your customer service be like?

Text that’s too long – or too short

Why ramble on and on when you can be interesting and concise? People don’t want to read paragraphs upon paragraphs of text. They simply don’t have time for it. If you want to keep consumers interested, be sure to break your website up into readable sections and include plenty of bullet points, takeaways and key facts. Make use of bold and coloured texts and incorporate video content, infographics or other visuals that’ll appeal to your audience.

On a similar note, make sure your content is not short and void of keywords. While you want to get to the point quickly, you also want to be SEO friendly and cover all relevant points to save site visitors going elsewhere for the information they need.

Content marketing takeaway: Incorporate both long and short-tail keywords into text that’s concise yet doesn’t miss out important information.

Weak brand identity and tone of voice

When it comes to developing a content marketing strategy for the web, it’s really important to understand your brand as this will impact your tone of voice and how you communicate with consumers. If you want your brand to be quirky and friendly, for instance, your web content might be fun, relaxed and a little humorous at times. While the finance sector isn’t known for being smiley and upbeat, there’s plenty of room to play with content and get your brand noticed – just look at us here at Contentworks. We take marketing and financial compliance seriously, of course we do. But we like to put our own unique spin on what we do for our brand. We also suggest creative ideas to clients which are designed to fit in nicely with their unique brand identity and style.

If you want to remain strictly corporate and tailor your content to busy professionals, however – that’s fine. Your tone of voice may be factual and direct and consist of short sentences over longer ones to convey a sense of urgency. Whatever you decide – always be consistent to avoid confusion.

Content marketing takeaway: Take the time to understand your target audience as this will have an impact on your brand/tone of voice. Talking to millennials is not the same as addressing those over 50 for example.

No light content for beginners or those just browsing

Having light content for beginner traders or those who want to browse your site does not mean you have to ‘dumb down’ your website or make yourself unattractive to those with extensive trading experience. If your target audience is knowledgeable, then by all means, go into detail and use the relevant lingo, but remember there’s no harm in making use of explainer videos or how-to blogs to ensure your slice of the web has a wide appeal. Even the very best traders need a little guidance now and again – particularly if your trading platform is cutting edge or new to the market – and some may even be willing to give snippets of advice and information that you can quote throughout your site for those just starting out.

Content marketing takeaway: Ensure your site has a wide appeal by providing a wide range of content for experienced and beginner traders.

Not enough persuasive content

When it comes to writing web content, you must thing about your overall goals. If you’re writing a blog, perhaps you want people to click through to a particular landing page. If so, be sure to include a call to action and a link through to the correct part of your site. Similarly, if you want people to sign up to your trading platform or enjoy a free demo – make your marketing messages clear! There’s no point beating about the bush; get straight to the point and ensure your content works as hard as possible.

Content marketing takeaway: Have a call to action in mind when writing content. Link through to relevant web pages where necessary and ensure everything you write has a purpose.

Struggling to find time to implement a successful content marketing strategy? Need a little guidance as to what works – and what doesn’t? Then contact the Contentworks team today.

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